Wales boss Craig Bellamy signed a four-year contract when he was appointed in July 2024. Craig Bellamy showed a new side to his personality as Wales head coach on Tuesday night. Or was it a flashback to his old self? Wales were losing at home to Northern Ireland in a friendly, and Bellamy was not happy with his team's first-half performance.

For the first time since taking charge in 2024, he let rip. Slamming tables, raising his voice, Bellamy erupted in front of his players. "It was the first half-time I had to go in and really go," he said. "My hand's still hurting from hitting the table. "We cannot be that. I can accept a poor performance with the ball and mistakes are never a problem. But winning duels, winning second balls, coming back together, that to me means the most.

"Did I get them ready enough? Because I thought I did before and the messaging of 'We can't waste games' and 'Average teams have excuses'. I don't believe we're an average team, but our behaviour was. We wasted a half."

Wales held to flat friendly draw by Northern Ireland. Wales boss Bellamy to keep 'best job in the world'. Centre-back Joe Rodon said it was the first time this Wales team had seen Bellamy in such a rage. For anyone who followed the 46-year-old as a player, it would come as no surprise. The former Liverpool and Manchester City forward courted controversy on and off the field over the course of a career packed with notable achievements but several flashpoints too.

As much as Bellamy might have mellowed as a coach, his half-time tirade demonstrated that his fiery temper is still in there somewhere. And frankly, the game was so insipid that it needed something – or someone – to liven it up. This, after all, was not how Wales had imagined Tuesday would play out. This was meant to be another of those famous nights under the Cardiff City Stadium lights, with a place at the World Cup on the line. Instead, what Wales got was a friendly against Northern Ireland.

At home, yes, but not the game they wanted. In fact, it was a match nobody wanted. Having lost their World Cup play-off semi-finals against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy respectively five days earlier, given the choice, Wales and Northern Ireland would probably have had the night off to wallow. Or at least that was the option a large number of fans appeared to have opted for, judging by the empty seats.

The match had been a sell-out in terms of tickets sold, with Wales fans encouraged to buy in advance to guarantee their place in the event of a play-off final against Italy. Given the gut-wrenching nature of their penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia, it was understandable that many of them couldn't stomach this fixture. Northern Ireland supporters, meanwhile, had been offered refunds by their association, who sensed the lack of appetite, even if their defeat in Italy had been less of a sickener.

Still, it could have been worse. When these sides met in the short-lived Nations Cup 15 years ago, only 530 people turned up at Dublin's cavernous Aviva Stadium to watch a Wales side featuring Bellamy win 2-0. The sense of apathy did not reach those depths at Cardiff City Stadium, which was still close to three-quarters full, but it was undoubtedly flat.

An estimated 300 Northern Ireland fans made the journey to Cardiff for the game. The noise here for competitive games is ferocious. For this friendly, the gentle hum of a few thousand conversations sounded more like the first morning of a Test match at Lord's. That was understandable given how bereft the home fans would have been after the Bosnia defeat.

Northern Ireland's travelling contingent did their best to generate a lively atmosphere, but there is only so much 300 people can do. The indifference only strayed into anger when some Wales fans booed forward Brennan Johnson when he came on as a second-half substitute. "I didn't hear it," Bellamy claimed. "I thought the fans who were there were top. And it was more of them than I expected because I know we don't like disappointment.

"I've got to be honest, I was expecting boos at half-time. I was with it! But there weren't boos. I even said to Crofty [assistant manager Andrew Crofts] after the game: 'How good were our fans today?'" Next on Bellamy's to-do list is preparation for the Nations League, with Wales beginning their top-flight campaign in September, before Euro 2028 qualifying next year. For now, though, that can wait. "I'll probably have about two weeks off now - I need to rest," he said. "I am done, emotionally done. I need this period to rest, spend time with my family and then look where I can improve. How can I get better? That's my aim."

What next for Wales after World Cup woe?

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